A Guide to the Fiesta San Antonio Commission Records, 1898, 1926-2008

The San
Antonio Chamber of Commerce created the Fiesta San Antonio Commission in the
summer of 1959 to coordinate efforts of Participating Member Organizations
(PMOs) and volunteers in staging Fiesta San Antonio, a ten-day event
commemorating the Battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto, held annually since
1891.

Content Abstract:

The Fiesta San Antonio Commission records document the agency and its function, as well as the festival itself. Materials include: correspondence, general office files, marketing and promotional materials, financial records, legal files, photograph, scrapbooks, audiovisual materials and ephemera.

The San Antonio Chamber of Commerce created the Fiesta San Antonio
Commission in the summer of 1959 to coordinate efforts of Participating Member
Organizations (PMOs) and volunteers in staging Fiesta San Antonio, a ten-day
event commemorating the Battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto, held annually
since 1891. The festival, held every spring, originated from the 1891 flower
parade as a salute to the heroes of the battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto.
The Battle of the Flowers Parade was organized by a group of San Antonio women
who formed the Battle of Flowers Association. By 1895 the Battle of Flowers
Parade became a weeklong celebration of events. Over the years a number of
different organizations were responsible for coordinating the festival.
Eventually the Order of the Alamo was organized in 1909 to manage parts of the
festival, including the election of the queen and the coronation, but the
Battle of Flowers Association continued organizing the parade, children's fete
and a band competition (which is known today as the Band Festival). The
crowning of a king was added to the event, first overseen by the Spring
Carnival Association, the downtown Business Club, and the Chamber of Commerce,
but the king was named from the ranks of the Texas Cavaliers after they were
organized in 1926. By 1945 the San Antonio Conservation Society was organizing
one of the most popular events of the festival, Night in Old San Antonio
(NIOSA), an event that recreates life in historic La Villita.

The Fiesta San Antonio Commission took over the work of the Festival
San Jacinto Association, which ran Fiesta from 1943-1959. Since 1960 Fiesta has
continued to evolve as a major civic event, growing every year. In 1960 there
were nine PMOs. In 1995 there were seventy PMOs and several hundred volunteers.
Fiesta includes three major parades: the Battle of Flowers opening parade, a
River Parade (which takes place along the San Antonio River Walk), and Fiesta
Flambeau, an illuminated nighttime parade. It also includes other events, such
as an international food festival, Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA) and dozens
of other events sponsored by Participating Member Organizations.

There are four main series of records in this collection and three additions:
Fiesta San Antonio Commission Records,
Fiesta San Antonio Records, Other Festivals and Events, San
Antonio General Local History.

Fiesta San Antonio Commission Records is
the largest series in the collection and it documents the agency and its
functions. This series is divided into five subseries: office files; marketing
and promotion files; financial reports, audits and ledgers; legal files; and
ephemera. The Office Files date back to the Commission's beginnings in 1959 and
continue through recent years. They are arranged chronologically by year and
alphabetically within each year. The office files range in content from bylaws
and administrative information to subject files and correspondence related to
organizing the festival. The Marketing and Promotion Files subseries primarily
date from the early 1980s to recent years and are arranged by year and then
alphabetically by subject within each year. Among the materials included are
brochures, licensing agreements, medals, postcards, posters, programs, and news
releases. The Financial Reports, Audits and Ledgers subseries contains records
dating back to the Commission's beginnings. Legal Files are restricted and may
only be viewed with permission from the Fiesta San Antonio Commission. The last
subseries, Ephemera, includes framed pictures and resolutions, as well as a
t-shirt and wall hanging.

The Fiesta San Antonio Records series
specifically documents the actual festival. This series includes a number of
different formats of records, many pre-dating the existence of the Fiesta
Commission in 1959. They include oversized invitations, programs and brochures,
Participating Member Organization records (Festival San Jacinto), 1991
Centennial files (alphabetical subject correspondence files), publicity
(magazine and newspaper articles), videotapes and films, photographs and
slides, scrapbooks, maps, posters and artifacts and ephemera.

Other Festivals and Events series includes
records of the International Festivals Association (IFA) and programs,
brochures and newspaper articles on other events. Marleen Pedroza, Executive
Vice-President of the Fiesta Commission from 1983-1994, was a long time board
member of the IFA annual national convention. The Local
History series is one Box of articles and clippings on local San Antonio
history not dealing with Fiesta.

The Additions include materials related to the Fiesta San Antonio Records series, Fiesta San Antonio Commission Records series and consists of documents, slides, photos and other material about Fiesta events, committees and organizations participating in Fiesta.